Images Dated 2007 August

Mechanics Institute Theatre, c1931

View of the theatre and main stage.
This shot was taken after the theatre was destroyed by a fire in 1930. The arch around the stage was rebuilt in an art deco style

© STEAM Picture Library 2007 - All Rights Reserved

Deco, Swindon, Village

Bristol Temple Meads Station, c.1936

A view of Diesel Railcar No. 11, built by AEC, waiting at a platform at Bristol Temple Meads in c.1936. These new streamlined railcars were very much of their time and would have been revolutionary when they entered service in the 1930s and began replacing traditional steam locomotives

© STEAM Museum of the GWR

1930s, 1936, Aec, Bristol, Bristol Temple Meads, Diesel, No 11, Rail Car, Railcar, Station

Mechanics Institute, 1933

This view of the Mechanics Institute shows the entrance to The Playhouse Theatre. The fly tower for the theatre can be seen in the centre of the building. This was built when a fire destroyed the old stage in December 1930.
The Institute provided a library, theatre and games rooms for GWR employees and their families. It was built in 1854 and stood in the heart of the Railway Village

© STEAM Picture Library 2007 - All Rights Reserved